Whilst in Kyoto, we went to a traditional Japanese clothes shop, Mimuro, to look for yukata. These robes are like kimonos but are usually made of cotton or linen instead of silk. They are lighter for wearing in summer.
In the shop, we found out there was a hierarchy of buyers. The ground floor had the least expensive stuff (although not exactly cheap). The first floor, where we went to pay, had more expensive stuff. The gold-lined silk kimonos, which sold for more than £20,000, were on the exclusive third floor. We were not invited to browse that floor.
Our attempts to buy lacquer-ware were less successful. We went to Zohiko Lacquer, which was recommended by our Lonely Planet Japan book.
Lunch was at Fune Ethical Lifestyle. The food was unusual and good. The cafe was in what we called the “French district”. Kyoto, in particular, seems to be fond of all things French.
Since we were close to Imperial Park, we popped in to see if any of the Kyoto Imperial Palace buildings were open. The emperor had long gone to Tokyo when Japan’s capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. (These two words are anagrams of each other!)
You can enter the park now (previously, you had to book a tour) but you can’t go in any of the buildings. The park, itself, is peaceful and it was worth walking around.
In the evening, we walked around the indoor market in Shinkyogoku district and ended up in a Nepalese restaurant, Yak & Yeti. I had a thali, which was tasty — and they provided unlimited refills of the dal!
